C+
New England Patriots
The phones sank the Patriots this weekend: C+.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 0 steals
· 6 reaches
The Patriots bet big and early on Jared Wilson, 38 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right. Fine in stretches, shaky in others: a C+.
A whole weekend of picks and interior defensive lineman is somehow still a want. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. They left with edge rusher solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
Stockpiling next year's capital is patient, if unglamorous, asset work.
It nets out as a middle-of-the-pack haul that neither helps nor hurts much.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 11 they get a plug-and-play piece up front. A clean fit for the roster.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jason Marshall Jr.. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They took Jay Higgins at par in No. 72, which is nothing to complain about. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
The board had cheaper options than Patrick Payton at the 81st overall pick, and it noticed. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They reached a country mile for Theo Wease Jr. at the Round 4 slot, and the board is aghast. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for J.Michael Sturdivant. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jake Briningstool in Round 4, Pick 15 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jared Wilson at slot 144 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. The roster fit checks out.
Mykel Williams at No. 188 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Xavier Truss in the 216th overall pick. It fills a real need, too.
They went early on Akili Arnold in pick No. 218, and the value did not follow. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Damien Martinez at the Round 7 slot nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.